Towards Environmentally Beneficial Farming? An Evaluation of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme

Abstract

Concern over the impact of agriculture on the environment has led to the implementation of a range of agri-environmental schemes by the UK government. Significant here is the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, introduced in 1991 and identified in the 1995 Rural While Paper as the cornerstone of the government’s attempts to resolve agri-environmental problems. In spite of the potential of schemes like Countryside Stewardship to encourage environmentally beneficial farming, questions remain about their effectiveness in this respect. This article evaluates the impact of Countryside Stewardship through an analysis of the local geography of response to the scheme within Cheshire. It explores the reasons behind the pattern of uptake of the scheme and examines the effect of the scheme on conservation and land use. The article concludes with an evaluation of the effectiveness of Countryside Stewardship in particular and agri-environmental policy in general in achieving the goals of environmentally beneficial fanning.